Erica Teixeira Prates

Erica Teixeira Prates is a Computational Systems Biologist at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), working within the Biological and Environmental Systems Science Directorate's Biosciences Division. She leads computational research in the Computational and Predictive Biology Group and Biocomputing and Information Section, focusing on integrating molecular dynamics simulations with multi-omics data to study protein structure-function relationships.

Her research spans three major domains:

• Bioenergy (CBI projects on plant-microbe interfaces and cellulose biosynthesis)
• Plant-Microbe Interactions (modeling receptor-ligand pairing in Populus systems)
• Viral Pathogenesis (SARS-CoV-2 protease mechanisms and antiviral strategies)

She develops computational protocols for proteome-wide modeling, virtual screening, and enhanced sampling techniques to bridge molecular biophysics with systems-level biological traits.

Publication analysis reveals consistent focus on structural bioinformatics (47% of articles), with growing emphasis on AI-driven approaches since 2020. Her work connects quantum biology with CRISPR optimization, metabolite-GWAS networks in plants, and opioid addiction genetics through meta-multiomics integration.

Professional contributions include key projects:

• Plant-Microbe Interfaces (PMI) initiative for bioenergy crops
• COVID-19 research on NEMO cleavage and bradykinin storms
• Development of explainable AI models for viral mutation tracking